For the first time, I watched this new show last night called "Con". Now, this was some funny stuff!!! This guy has become my new Idol. My question is, can this stuff actually be pulled off with out the T.V. camera following you around for people to see????
Since we all love hoaxes, I recommend everyone checking this out. I hope to attempt a con like this myself, just only have 2 ideas at the moment.
Be careful if you try to emulate what they do on Con. Remember that, as they say at the end of the show in a disclaimer that you may not have read, they reimburse the "victims" of the con for any goods or services given to the show. Reimbursement is the thing that prevents them from being accused of a crime. In other words, the production company DOES pay for what Skyler Stone gets.
It's not like the average con artist has a variety of costumes and a camera crew to follow him around. This guy is starting off loaded. Average folks like us would have more luck phishing.
I just wonder how long it'll go on for until people wise up? Can't you just imagine, the guy's found a mark, setting up the con, and the mark looks at him and says "Hey, I know you! Are you conning me for your TV show? Am I on camera now?" And so on.
"I just wonder how long it'll go on for until people wise up? Can't you just imagine, the guy's found a mark, setting up the con, and the mark looks at him and says "Hey, I know you! Are you conning me for your TV show? Am I on camera now?" And so on."
That actually became a real problem for Sasha Baron Cohen, "Ali G." He was SO famous in England that he really couldn't operate effectively anymore. That's one reason he took his show to America.
One way that shows like Con and Ali G. try to avoid that problem is to tape a bunch of episodes well before the show ever airs. That way the "victims" do not recognize the star. That helps them get through at least the first season. After that, obviously, the bigger the show becomes, the greater the chance of recognition becomes too.
Yup, I had kinda gathered they would've filmed the first series before airing it.
I never knew that happened with Ali G, but then again, he's not real big over here.
Deediddums
in Dublin Member
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 | 01:02 AM
Well he did come up with two more characters - Borat and Bruno, that kept him going for a while longer. Personally I lived for the Borat clips he was hilarious. "My wife, she is dead"
Yeah, Sasha Cohen apparantly is/was a pretty big deal in England, to the point where he claims there were a couple of guys pretending to be him to pick up women.
I admire him. It takes brass balls to do that gay character at a football game in Alabama. Those rednecks take their fag-bashing seriously.
Brave, but I never found him particularly funny.
Just a different sense of humour, I suppose.
But he's very much out of fashion here now, although at the height of his fame he was very big.
You'd hear people using his catchphrases in the street (and then you'd punch them viciously in the stomach).
Yeah, Ali G has been followed by Bo Selecta and Little Britain.
Little Britain is ok, but I HATE HATE HATE HATE Bo Selecta.
And now their catchphrases are bandied about.
mm
in Georgia, USA
Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2005 | 09:03 AM
This would be 'theft by deception' if the companies were not paid/notified in advance. I'm sure they have a system worked out, or else it'd be a very bad idea for a tv show.
Pierce
Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2005 | 09:17 PM
What does the disclaimer at the beginning and end say? Anyone Know? please email me
"What does the disclaimer at the beginning and end say? Anyone Know? please email me"
Read it here or don't read it, Bub. I haven't seen the one at the beginning of the show but I HAVE seen the one at the end. It's a wee bit long to read in the two or three seconds it's on the screen, but it does say that the participants are reimbursed for the cost of goods and services obtained. In other words, Skyler Stone may "con" them out of stuff, but they DO get paid by the production company in the end. That's what keeps the show from being involved in fraud or theft by deception (my words, not theirs).
It also says "Remember, 'con' is the first syllable of 'consequence'." I can't read the rest of it fast enough.
Maegan
in Tampa, FL - USA Member
Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2005 | 05:18 AM
I saw a Twilight Zone (new version) episode where this woman ends up on this reality show, b/c her son is kidnapped. She gets a million if she can find her son in an hour. Then, she gets more, if she kills the kidnapper. Kidnapper was her husband. When she found out - she killed him anyway for putting their son in danger. Interesting indeed.
Dan
in Rochester, NY
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2005 | 07:53 PM
Actually the CON guy on comedy central... I find him a bit too easy to read. I don't think he's all that great. But, I keep watching the show.
Brad Johnson
in santa cruz, CA
Posted: Wed May 18, 2005 | 05:15 PM
The only ones that are fake are the pre-big con ones that are at the beginning of each episode. The main cons are real. The marks are informed after Skyler leaves and the company pays for any expenses and has them sign a contract stating they authorize comedy central's permission to use the footage. If they dont sign the contract, the footage doesnt air. There are many good ones that are left on the cutting room floor because of this. Dont ask me how i know. You either believe it or you dont.
Whistleblower
Posted: Wed May 18, 2005 | 07:41 PM
I can tell you exactly how it all worked: All people were conned - originally. But many people figured out something was wrong half way through shooting but that footage never made it in to the show, obviously. (The Brad Pitt one for example, the whole restaurant figured it out pretty quickly and eventually threw the whole production out of the place in disgust, but that doesn't make it to the final cut, surprise surprise). There is an excuse for almost all the cons as to why there is a camera crew (we're doing a documentary on this famous photographer/director/publicist etc, and individuals are given a wordy release form which is usually signed before anything is shot. This way they can't retract it and Comedy Central can air what they like of the individual, edited in any manner. If this release isn't signed no footage of them may be aired, so obviously it is imperative that it gets signed or the whole con is wasted (if you see someone's face blurred it's because they either refused to sign or the production team for whatever reason didn't get the release to them to sign). There is also a costume department and budget so straight away Sklyer has one up on anyone else trying to pull off the same thing, plus an art department mocking up invites, laminates, etc. Having a camera crew also lends an air of legitimacy that allows Skyler to get into places/situation that he couldn't if there wasn't a crew with him. An awful lot of work went in to preparing the cons and making sure that Sklyer wasn't caught out and a few cons along the way got lost when people started asking too many questions. The 'documentary' being shot was for 'a viacom channel' as the minute you say Comedy Central alarm bells start ringing. Some people want more information, others are happy with that and dazzled enough by the cameras to not ask any more questions. Companies or individuals are reimbursed AFTER the con in order to prevent them from suing or to avoid being accused of fraud/deception. There is an entire episode that can't air as the company involved are suing Comedy Central, and they're not bad sports, they just didn't like being conned and having their employees made to look bad on tv, nor haing them waste company time and money on the con. Fair enough really.
As for it being a nicer version of Punk'd, well, cosnidering many people figured out something was going on but the finished product made them look stupid and ignorant, I'm not so sure. Ripping off corporations is one thing, individuals (like the models, the 'porn' actress, the homeless makeover people), seems just downright mean and manipulative. But it's cheap tv so they'll just keep on making it.
And the last con? Sklyer Stone isn't even his real name. He's a nice Jewish boy with a nice Jewish name.
who cares
Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 | 08:03 PM
The real con is that this guy got Comedy Central to fund this show. The whole thing is incredibly boring and obvious, and clearly only works because of the huge budget. Even so, there isn't a single con worth actually doing, because all of them require so much prep and money as to be worthless. Well, that's not quite true. The one about defacing the no parking sign and the one about getting free soft drinks work. Of course a soft drink is pretty cheap, and you can just avoid parking tickets by paying attention.
There are many many cons, and I'm always fascinated by them. I wish this show would focus on cons that can actually work, like the ones in the book American Gods, or in that movie "house of games" I think it was called.
